Economist

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making.

This is an appointment under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency's discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.

For more information, click Pathways Programs.

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• Collects data from businesses for the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Import/Export Price Indexes (MXP).
• Plans, schedules, and conducts data collection assignments using fairly complex economic or statistical techniques which are covered by established methods and procedures.
• Makes arrangements preparatory to obtaining voluntary data from enterprises for which the collection of data is expected to present relatively few complexities and for which precedents exist.
• Performs internet research on sampled companies, makes phone calls to schedule appointments, and travels to sampled establishments. Conducts interviews with high-level company officials. Applies standard practices and techniques to the solicitation of data and reports information in accordance with survey requirements.
• Evaluates the data collected and makes adjustments to ensure reliability and comparability as well as reasonableness and conformance to survey requirements.
• Makes follow-up contact to respondents providing data to ensure accurate and timely survey results. While most data requirements are straight forward, some analysis is necessary to ensure that the data reported are accurate.
• Critically evaluate collection experiences in relations to survey design and specifications, survey materials, economic conditions affecting the industry and area studied, and trends in the industry and area. Recommends modifications in survey methods oriented toward improvements in the survey plan.
• Performs other duties as assigned. For training and development purposes, assignments may include some segments or aspects of work that are typically at a higher level.

Duties at the GS-09 are developmental leading up to the full performance level of the GS-12

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• Must be at least 16 years.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• The entire duration of the Recent Graduate Appointment constitutes a trial period.
• Requires a valid driver's license.
• Appointees must sign a DOL Pathways Recent Graduate Program Participant Agreement.

Applicants must have graduated, within the past two years, (with an associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, diploma, vocational, technical degree, or certificate, etc.) from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical educational program including registered Apprenticeship Programs, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Job Corps, Climate Corps).

You must meet the Basic Requirements and the Specialized Experience to qualify for Economist, as described below.

A) Degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus.

B) A combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, applicants must also meet the Minimum Qualifications to be considered:

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience should include a thorough range of complex economic professional work.

GS-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service.

Qualifying specialized experience includes: Contacted sampled establishments to schedule appointments and conduct interviews; Secured voluntary cooperation and interviewed company officials to collect data from businesses or other survey respondents for timely survey results; Made follow up contact to respondents for necessary clarification to ensure accuracy of data provided.

OR

GS-09: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR

GS-09: Graduate education (more than one year but less than two) and specialized experience as required for GS-09 (less than one year) that when combined totals one year. Only graduate education beyond the first year (18 semester hours or quarter hour equivalent) can be combined with experience to total one year.

For additional information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management Operating Manual for Qualification Standards, Group Coverage Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions: Individual Occupation Requirements for Economist Series GS-110.

To be eligible for an appointment, you must meet requirement A or B.

A. Completed all requirements for a diploma, associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical education program (including registered Apprenticeship Programs, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Job Corps, Climate Corps) within the previous two years; OR

B. Was released or discharged from active duty within the previous two years, where the applicant is a veteran who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying for a recent graduate position during any portion of the two-year eligibility period following completion of his/her degree or certificate requirements, provided that not more than six years have transpired since the applicant completed the requirements for a degree or certification. You must submit an academic transcript from your academic institution showing the date that you most recently completed the academic requirements described above.

*For Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions, click Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs

*For Registered State Apprenticeship Programs Information, click State Apprenticeship Programs

*For Other Apprenticeship Programs, click Apprenticeship Programs

*For Industry-Endorsed Certificate Programs, click Career One Stop Certificate Finder

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

For more information, click Career Ladder Promotion Information

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements.

This appointment is under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year.

The appointee must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service upon completion of the program.

For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act.

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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